The present name

The present name of this lace is a variant of this Taniil form. It still continues to be part ofthe Tamil areas ofCeylon. These considerations would lead uá to infer that the Tamilisatiozi of this place-name was the result of Tamil settle ent inthe area. Similarly, Kotiyram is a place-name still in use. The area which it denotes is settled by Tamils. Velskmm and Pulainari are not in use today. But Taniil inscriptions as well as Dravidian ruins ofthe C1a period have been found inthe places denoted by them It is, therefore, very probable that these Tamilised forms of Sinhalese place-names are the result of Tamil settlement. Thus, the evidence of toponyms have to be used with caution. By itself, it cannot form the basis of any important conclusion, It could, however, be used to strengthen arguments based on other more reliable evidence. The evidence ofthe four different types of sources that we have just analysed generally corroborate and supplement each other. While some ofthem provide more information than the others, the general conclusions that ,could be drawn from them remain basically the same. In the first place, while these sources reflect the presence of a larger number of Tamila than before, they do not at the same time point to any great Dravidian migration having taken place inthe wake ofthe Ca conquest. 121 1. See supra,

128 They reveal the presence of Tamils in certain regions but no particular area o considerable size seems to have been completely settled by them. This becomes clear if we try to trace the places where evidence oftheir settlement is available. According to the literary sources, Tamils were found scattered inthe villages and market towns, all over the kingdom. There were C1a strongholds inthe Kurungala district, the northern region ofthe ?tale district andin some parts ofthe Batticaloa district. The evidence ofthe other sources confirm this. The find spots oftheinscriptions show that the Tamils were living scattered inthe northern parts ofthe island. With the exception oftheinscriptions from Attaragalla and Diyavinna, all the other inscriptions could be grouped under five regions, namely the Burulu and Nuvaragain divisions ofthe Nuvarakalviya district (North-central Province), the Siih4a Pattu division ofthe Tamanic.açIuva district (North-central Province), )ntai inthe Nanr district (Northern Province) and Periyakuam inthe Trincomalee distriet (Eastern Province). The inscription from Nahkachchatkoi could be grouped with those ofthe Hurulu division, for its provenace lies only about three miles outside this divisiox Dravidian archaeological remains have been 1. a) Rurulu - inscriptions from FAoragoa, Padaviya, Paragiyaviya; b) Nuvaragam - Anurdhapura, Sañgili-kanadarv , Atkaa; c) Siñh4a Pattu - Polonnaruva, Giritale, Gal Oya.